Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card Review

Do you remember the first time you heard the term “Celebrity Chef?” It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, but for many people, some of their favorite celebrities are chefs. Whether you think of yourself as a foodie or not, millions of Americans are taking what they eat more seriously, and are spending more to enjoy the most memorable dining experiences at home and when they go out. Capital One has just introduced the Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card that rewards you the most when you dine out and when you shop at grocery stores.

How This Card Works

New applicants can currently receive a one-time, $150 cash bonus once they spend $500 on new purchases within three months of account opening. This card also offers you 3% cash back on all your dining and entertainment purchases, with no limits. You also receive 2% cash back from all your purchases at grocery stores, and 1% cash back elsewhere. There are no limits to the amount of rewards that you can earn from any of these categories, and your rewards will never expire so long as your account is open. When it comes time to redeem your rewards, you can receive your cash back in any amount.

As part of the World Elite Mastercard program, this card comes with numerous travel insurance and shopping protection policies. It comes with MasterRental worldwide rental car insurance, a travel accident policy, and baggage delay coverage. You also receive trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance that covers you when the unexpected derails your plans.

When shopping, your purchases are protected with a price protection policy and extended warranty coverage. The World Elite Mastercard program also includes numerous travel and shopping discounts including elite rental car status with Avis, National, Budget and Sixt car rentals. Mastercard even provides you with telephone concierge and identity theft resolution services.

New accounts receive 15 months 0% APR financing on balance transfers and new purchases, followed by a standard interest rate of 16.24% to 26.24%, based on your creditworthiness when you applied. Like most credit cards, this is a variable rate that can change with the Prime Rate. There’s no annual fee for this card, and as with all other Capital One cards, you’ll never be charged a foreign transaction fee. There is a 3% balance transfer fee within the first 15 months. After the introductory period, there is no fee for balance transfers.

Advantages

If you eat out often, it will be difficult to beat earning 3% cash back on all of your dining. These rewards apply at any business coded as a restaurant, so you should receive them whether you are enjoying a meal at the latest new restaurant or just picking up some take-out from your favorite local dive. Earning 2% cash back at grocery stores is also very competitive, although there are other cards that can offer more rewards at supermarkets, albeit with annual limits.

This card is also one of the rare cards that’s part of the World Elite Mastercard program but doesn’t have an annual fee. This can offer some very valuable shopping and travel discounts, especially on airfare. For example, you can receive a Business Class upgrade with the purchase of a qualifying Economy Class fare on Lufthansa group flights which includes Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and others.

The 15 months of 0% APR financing on new purchases is a valuable offer, but it’s certainly not the longest offer of its type. Finally, it’s always nice to find a good rewards card that has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.

Drawbacks

As with any rewards card, you can’t expect to receive a standard interest rate that’s competitive with a similar non-rewards card. If you tend to carry a balance on your credit cards, then you should avoid using rewards cards and focus on finding a card with the lowest possible interest rate while you repay your debt.

Like many reward cards with strong bonus categories, it only offers a nominal 1% cash back for non-bonus purchases. For a higher rate of cash back on purchases that don’t qualify for a bonus, you can use one of many cards that offer a higher cash back rate, but lack other bonus categories.

Bottom line

Capital One used to shy away from offering so-called tiered reward cards with special bonuses for certain purchases, but now it seems to be diving into that market. The Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card is a strong product designed to reward those who spend significantly on dining and at grocery stores. If food is a major part of your life, then the SavorOne card may be right for you.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Steele is one of the leading journalists covering the credit card industry and travel rewards. His work appears at many of the top personal finance websites and is regularly syndicated by mainstream sites such as MSN Money and Yahoo! Finance.

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Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

Credit Cards Explained may earn affiliate commissions from our partners on this page. These commissions do not affect how we select, rate, or review products. To find out more, read our complete terms of use.